“Tonight’s speech should have been called a State of the Stimulus, and the president should have admitted that it failed. Two years after the president’s nearly trillion dollar government stimulus, unemployment has increased and remains high, families and businesses are still struggling, and our national debt continues to skyrocket.

“When the president says ‘investment’ he means bigger federal government and higher taxes. Americans sent a clear message in the 2010 elections. They no longer wish to ‘invest’ in President Obama’s big-spending plans….

“Our nation is still the best and most exceptional on Earth. But America’s greatness is in our freedom and empowerment of the individual, not in the size of government bureaucracies. I hope the President and all Washington politicians heed the call of the November elections that our government must do less, not more.”

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

“The president campaigned two years ago on focusing his attention on job creation, but for two years his interests have been the government takeover of health care, empowering unions and regulating energy consumption. I sincerely hope the president got the message from the American people in November and will join me in advocating for significant cuts to government spending.

“As a country we can’t spend our way out of debt. The people of South Carolina want to see a real focus on lowering the national debt and getting spending under control. I’m just not sure if the president’s idea of ‘significant’ spending reductions matches up with the expectations of the American people.”

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.

“At the end of the day, what the president does will be much more important than what he said. Specifically, I thought the president’s remarks on the budget fell far short of the cuts we need to enact. Freezing spending at already-unsustainable levels is unacceptable.”

Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C.

“Tonight the president reminded us that when we faced our greatest challenges as a nation, we conquered them not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. Economic growth and job creation is our greatest challenge today, and just as we did when the Russians launched Sputnik, I agree that we must respond by generating a wave of innovation that creates new industries and jobs in America.

“The president made clear that he has shifted gears from the crisis mode he was forced into two years ago to the creative mode Americans yearn. Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Obama came to office and launched a major recovery effort. Two years later as he reported tonight, the stock market is back, corporate profits are up and the economy is growing again. Now it’s time to build on that progress by working together to spur job creation. I hope my Republican colleagues will join us in this effort. There are many areas on which we share common ground, the question is whether we will meet there to make a difference.

“But we must be sure that as we build on our recovery we do not leave communities behind. I propose that as we make economic investments going forward, we replicate a measure I included in a section of the Recovery Act that I call the 10-20-30 formula—ten percent of recovery resources are directed to communities with 20 percent or more of their population have been under the federal poverty level for the last 30 years. After all, we are only as strong as our weakest link and economic strength in communities with chronic unemployment and underemployment is an important measure of our economic success.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.

Sen. Lindsey Graham did not attend the annual address. Aides said he was returning to the United States from Air Force Reserve active duty service as a military lawyer in Afghanistan.

Courtesy of The State